Copyright (c) 2009 Radio Prague (Cesky Rozhlas 7 - Radio Praha)
News Saturday, November 7th, 2009
By: Ian Willoughby
* Czech Prime Minister Jan Fischer has rejected the idea that he could
become the country's next European commissioner.
* Mr Fischer expressed interest in the post before making a complete
u-turn, says the leader of the Civic Democrats.
* The mayor of Prague has established a crisis committee aimed at
averting a strike by workers at the city's transport authority.
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PM rejects suggestion he could become European commissioner
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The caretaker prime minister of the Czech Republic, Jan Fischer, has
rejected the idea that he could become the country's next European
commissioner. The news website idnes.cz reported that the two biggest
parties the Social Democrats and the Civic Democrats were in favour of
putting Mr Fischer forward for the post. However, in a statement issued
on Saturday he said he and his government had taken on the
responsibility of leading the country until elections next year and he
would not give up that responsibility overnight. The prime minister
said he hoped the political parties could agree on a candidate; if not,
the interim government is expected to select a nominee at the start of
next week.
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Topolanek: Fischer made total u-turn after showing interest in post
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Jan Fischer's predecessor as head of the government, Mirek Topolanek,
said the prime minister had expressed interest in taking the job of
European commissioner. The Civic Democrats leader said after weeks of
complicated negotiations Mr Fischer's nomination was the only
compromise that could be reached, and that he could not understand the
latter's complete u-turn over taking the post. He also praised the
prime minister (by profession a statistician), saying he had shown he
could represent the Czech Republic well on the European scene.
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Group set up with aim of averting Prague transport strike...
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The mayor of Prague, Pavel Bem, has established a crisis committee
aimed at averting a strike by workers at the city's transport
authority. At its first meeting on Saturday, the group set as its
targets preventing industrial action and dealing with the company's
poor financial situation. Mr Bem described a planned strike by
transport workers as irresponsible, saying they would hold Prague to
ransom. For their part, they say mooted pay cuts of seven percent are
unacceptable. According to unofficial information the strike could take
place next Tuesday.
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...while Social Democrats give support to strike
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The Czech Republic's biggest left-wing party the Social Democrats have
backed the threat of strike from the capital's transport workers.
Deputy leader Zdenek Skromach said after a meeting of the party's
leadership on Saturday that Prague City Hall had adopted an
irresponsible approach that could not lead to a reasonable agreement.
Mr Skromach said if Prague citizens were angered by a strike, they
should aim that anger at the city authorities, not the workers.
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Klaus reiterates view that communism collapsed due to internal
weaknesses
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The Czech president, Vaclav Klaus, has reiterated his view that the
communist regimes of Europe collapsed mainly because of internal
weaknesses. He made the comments at a conference in the United States
on the role played by Ronald Reagan in the fall of communism. Mr Klaus
said if there were external reasons for that collapse, Mr Reagan and
the former British prime minister Margaret Thatcher had contributed.
The Czech president has previously suggested that the role of
dissidents in bringing about the end of communism was exaggerated.
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Chamber votes to lift immunity of MP Wolf
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The Chamber of Deputies has voted to lift the immunity of independent
MP Petr Wolf. Mr Wolf, who was elected for the Social Democrats, is
accused of abuse of state subsidies. He told reporters that Friday's
vote, which was supported by the Social Democrats and the Communists,
was to do with politics not legality, and was revenge for the fact he
had quit the former party.
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Theatre director Otomar Krejca dies at 87
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The renowned Czech theatre director Otomar Krejca has died at the age
of 87. He was director of the National Theatre's drama department for
six years before helping found the theatre Divadlo za branou. Krejca
directed over 80 productions, many of them outside the Czech Republic,
in such cities as Brussels, Vienna and Havana.
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Posters of Velvet Revolution remembered in new book
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A new book has been published about the posters which accompanied the
fall of communism in Czechoslovakia in 1989. Entitled Posters of the
Velvet Revolution, it collects various posters that appeared in the
country's towns and cities during that period, for instance calling for
the removal of the communist government or for a general strike at the
end of November that year. The authors, many of whom were university
students, are mostly unknown. The book features texts in both Czech and
English.
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Stepanek beaten in semi-finals of Swiss Indoors
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The Czech men's tennis number one Radek Stepanek has been beaten in the
semi-finals of the Swiss Indoors in Basel. After failing to capitalise
on three match balls in the second set, the number 5 seed was beaten by
the second seed Novak Djokovic of Serbia, 6-7 7-5 6-2.
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Weather
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The next couple of days should be grey and wet. Temperatures are
expected to reach 11 degrees Celsius.
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Articles posted on www.radio.cz today
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Magazine
Magazine 11.7.2009
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Check-out the Czech Republic in the Eurodream chocolate box! Hold that
thief! A man overpowers a burglar only to find that the police can't
come because they don't have a car. And a new tradition has been
established - a procession of Prague ghosts on Halloween. Find out more
in Magazine with Daniela Lazarova.
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/121984
SoundCzech
A kiss not just a kiss
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Hello and welcome to a new edition SoundCzech, where we use song to
help you learn the Czech you really need. Today's song is by Hana
Zagorova and the word it gives you must certainly be one of the most
important in any language. It's called "Polibek", or "kiss".
http://www.radio.cz/en/article/121979
VELVET AT THE FILM SCHOOL
Monday, November 9, 2009 at 18:30 - FAMU, Smetanovo nabrezi 2,
Praha 1,
Room 1.
Admission free.
Radio Prague and FAMU - Prague's celebrated film school - invite
you to a discussion in English with some of those who were at the
heart of the Velvet Revolution, to examine the legacy of the
revolution 20 years on.
The film school was one of the focal points of the dramatic
events of November 1989, so it makes an apt backdrop for a
discussion with some of those who played a central role in those
events. Guests include Vaclav Bartuska, who was the first person
to be given access to the secret police files after the fall of
communism, and Jiri Stransky, who survived years in the Stalinist
gulags. The dean of FAMU, Pavel Jech will also take part, along
with student activists from the time of the revolution. And
we'll be asking representatives of today's student generation
whether student activism is still alive and well in the Czech
Republic.
Space is limited, so do try to arrive early.
The entire discussion will later be made available in audio on
Radio Prague's website (www.radio.cz), and highlights will be
broadcast by Radio Prague on November 17, exactly 20 years after
Czechoslovakia's revolution broke out.
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